Thursday, August 17, 2006

"seriously."

...yall need to come over to my place and rub my tummy*, cos I am on some freight train of luck here again.

First, I was the grand prize winner over at the Vintage Knitalong...! I won a skein of Helen's Lace, so on top of reading all about spinning yarn I've been ogling shawl patterns... maybe a half pi shawl? Or a rectangular shawl from JennyRaye'smaster list? The entrelac stole just featured on Margene's blog? Too.many.choices. This is so going to be the way I am diving into knitting lace, with a decadent yarn compliments of purrl. :) (The KAL is still going strong, more patterns listing and more posts... head on over for some black and white knitting love.)

Finally it looks like all may be a go for my new to me wheel...!!! (eeee!! i am a squealer in real life, too!) I so much appreciate all the time and effort that went into the comments about it; I've printed them out and read them over and over and really appreciate all of the advice. I have an appointment to check it out this weekend, wish me luck :)

Reminds me, I'm looking for some spinning books and/or fiber to get me started/learning on-- if you're interested in swapping for some sock or other yarns drop me a line in the comments or via email. List at the end of the post^

I *should* tell you I've been working furiously on my black lace thighhighs, but its not the case. I've been too overwhelmed w/ reading about spinning, so I cast on for a wonderfully mindless pair of socks to knit as I read...

I feel the slow pull of the toe up camp, and I love it. I didn't even think about top down when I decided I wanted to knit a plain stockinette sock, I just did the toe and kept on keeping on. Its odd, I never ever thought I'd prefer knitting toe up, but it just feels so intuitive. I'm not a total convert yet though. Yet.

Non sequitur segue:

Tinky Winky on a ledge!!

:)

For Kristi's contest. She's giving away a copy of the pattern for her luminous Sarcelle shawl and a skein of the yarn it calls for, how can I resist? :) She's also said multiple pics are allowed, so expect to see some more toy torture here before the contest's end on August 20.

^ I have some random, sock pairs worth of yarns to swap for fiber and/or spinning books...- Interlacements tiny toes in (solid) blue, (solid) grey- Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport in Sand Ridge- Sheep City USA DK Superwash in blues- Austermann Step in Whisky (#9, #9, #9...)- Wildfoote in Geranium- Cherry Tree Hill endlots in Supersock and Super Glitz(most of these can be seen in this post, I have other pics as well)

lmk if you want more pics, non-smoking/pet household. sorry to pander, but i really enjoy the idea of making the stash a bit smaller in order to bring in stuff for a new hobby :) oscillateATEgma1LDOTcom or in the comments.

edit, 8/19: thanks for all the emails yall! i was able to swap for some great books & fiber so i'm going to take this down... if you're still looking to swap for something still listed above, feel free to drop me a line but i'm not in desperate states anymore. thanks again! :) -- @.

***

* at my grandparents' home, there was a 3 ft. tall sculpture of the Buddha atop a cabinet, carved from a single piece of brown-black stone. the base was squared and you could see the feet "growing" out of the stone and into the sculpture-- the Buddha is a laughing one, standing with his arms above his head, belly full on out, a shift/robe tied at his waist. his earlobes were long and drawn out, almost to his chin, and his eyes were closed in laughter. a small ring of beads was held in his closed hands, and as they were above his head and gravity is what it is, it hung against his palm and came to the curve of his wrist before turning up and back again into his hand.

Yay for you and your potential new wheel! (and new addiction... just so you can't say we didn't warn you.)I should explain that I had to teach myself to spin - I'd not met another spinner "in person" (as in, not in a book or on the internet) in my life, and only seen one wheel when I got mine. If there's anyone in your area, use that resource! Sorry, I just sold my out-grown spinning books on ebay - I still need the others.How did you dye the sock yarn to stripe so perfectly? It looks wonderful!

hey aija, great socks! who would've thunk that easter egg dye could make something so pretty? :) at one time i was obsessed with learning how to spin (too cost-prohibitive at the moment) and found a couple of great blogs. my fav is two left needles (http://twoleftneedles.com), it was fun to see how the author mygomi explored the world of fiber. somehow i surfed to her blog when she first picked up a spindle, you should check it out if you get the chance.

I read a great deal of spinning books in college (about the history, not the process), when writing a paper on the significance of spinning and weaving in Roman society). Perhaps you already know this, being a smart Cal gal, but historians believe most of the goddess sculptures (by analyzing the angle of their would-be arms), held spindles, or mimiced holding spindles. Most are not looking at their handiwork, though, because they were goddesses, and a good Greek/Roman women/goddess doesn't need to look at her hands when spinning, because she's that good (plus she's been working on it all day). Idle hands . . . Anyhow, enough boring you with historical tid bits. Congrats on the awards!

I know what you mean about the toe-ups! I never thought I would want to knit all of my socks like that, but it's in my plans for all of my extra-super special sock yarn...Congrats on the yarn, mmmm good :)